karissakarissa: The great thing about Filipinos is that we always try to support each other. Thanks! :)
BeChloeFan01: Masasagot din ang iyong mga katanungan. Hintay hintay din.
madness2013: Beca had learned. No more striking a deal with the devil.
AnonTheWriter: Stabbing Bumper? That'll be a treat, dear. For everything he did, that's just too nice of you.
Guest (Jul 23): Yeah, I'm so sorry. It's not Stacie.
avidreader: Well, it's not over yet.
ballpointmf: Thanks! :)
purplefurball: I'm going to miss writing this story too.
oisooper: I guess I owe you all a happy ending.
asdfg: There's no excitement without twists. :)
frenchyloop: LOL. There's one more chapter after this, don't worry.
Kartoffel: I probably should warn you about this chapter.
Guest (Jul 23): LOL literally. Good for you, I guess.
Rennie Laroche: I actually like Gaston. He's funny, and he at least can sing... unlike Ben.
MysticFalls94: And expect more surprises.
Yan: It's nice of you to have your sister read it. It must have been so stressful for her. LOL.
Pinoypride: Yes, I'm very sure. Sorry, guys.
aimeekiwi93: As tempting as it is, I got a few ideas now to be honest, I won't be writing a third installment.
Tofu9162: To tell you the truth, I have no idea how I'm going to end all these in one last chapter. I've practically said it over and over, I never plan anything beforehand. (That's one reason why sometimes it takes me too long to update). All I have in mind is that very last scene that would mark the end of this Stolen story.
crystalsoda1 and everybody else who's frustrated with Skyler: You can't really blame her. She knows nothing about her sister. She was thrust into a world where everybody look at her like a dead person who came back to life, and she had no single idea why.
I don't know how many times I've said this, but I'm loving this chapter. I made myself swear to not spoil you, but I decided to spoil you a little bit anyway. Two words: Stacie feels.
CHAPTER NINETEEN: Escape
All the bags were packed and ready to be loaded into the car. In a few hours, the house would be left in the hands of a new caretaker while its previous owners would be on a long flight to Paris where a new life would be welcoming for them. For the meantime, how else would they bid farewell but to spend their last night together? A plate of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies was going around along with cups of hot chocolate to keep everybody from dozing off. The ladies were hanging out in the living room while the guys namely Stan and Jesse were at it again with their most prized possession – their toy lightsabers. A painting hanging innocently on the wall had already been victimized by their make believe battle against the Imperial Stormtroopers.
"But... but…"
Fat Amy looked up from the empty plate, except from the tiny crumbles, to the people whom she had been referring to as her friends. How could they leave her with nothing to eat?
"There's more in the kitchen," Chloe quickly repaired the impending dilemma.
"Oh my god, your girlfriend is the best, Beca! Thanks, Chloe!"
The quiet cricket rolled her eyes as her old roommate as expected dashed into the kitchen surely to refill the plate with chocolate chip cookies. Rem came in with Ronie's last few boxes and snatched away the piece of dessert from Beca's hand right before the brunette could deliver the piece into her hungry mouth. How rude, she glared at the suspect who successfully pretended to be innocent.
"Are you going to be okay here on your own, Ronie?" asked the Posen heiress.
"Yes…" the former Barden Chief Directress paused from unloading her stuff to take the time to contemplate on the surrounding, what would be her new home for the next weeks to come. "I think I'll be okay, dear. Fat Amy and Jesse will be staying in for the first few days and help me get acquainted. Besides, Rem here volunteered to offer some company once in a while."
"Should we give Rem a special plaque of appreciation for her golden heart?" Fat Amy was back with a big plate of cookies and a whole jar for herself this time. Only the crazy blonde, of course, was allowed to fish out some piece from the humongous container after playfully messing with the Australian's big belly.
"By the way," Ronie handed an envelope over to her daughter. "It came in this morning. It's from Maverick. That's his new address in case you want to send something back."
Almost in automatic, Beca was surrounded by prying agents as she opened the envelope. She ran her fingers over the huge Greetings from Baton Rouge print on the postcard before flipping it over to read a short message written in the seven-year-old's handwriting with a poor drawing of him with the rest of his crazy adult friends in colorful stick figures on the bottom of the card.
WISH YOU WERE HERE. LOVE, MAVERICK THE BRAVE.
"Aww, would you look at that? He has your handwriting, Beca."
Still having the lethal eyes of a monstrous murderer, Beca shot a look at the healthy blonde who wouldn't shut her mouth.
"Nah," Rem seemed to disagree. "The kid has a better handwriting."
What was it with people finding great satisfaction from making fun of other's flaws? The brunette extended the death sentence to the other blonde; it was simply disregarded with a cynical smirk.
"I hope he's happy with his family," Chloe shared her sentiment, wondering if the brave little warrior was in fact enjoying his time at his new home. "God, I miss him so much."
Her best friend seconded with a nod. "He deserves to be with them though."
"We should send him a phone or something," the redhead put a hand over her girlfriend's arm for emphasis of urgency. "You know, for easier communication. Even when we're in Paris, we should keep in touch with everybody."
Beca turned to her previous partner in crime.
"Surefire," Fat Amy pulled a thumb's up. "Consider it done, mate."
"Maverick will be really thrilled if you'd go visit him personally," Ronie suggested what was kind of impossible for the time being, gaining everybody's attention and sympathy. I know, I know. You can't do that right now, not when you're about to leave in a few hours."
"Mom…"
"But maybe someday, hmm?"
All youngsters nodded their heads in unanimity, a promise meant to be kept.
"Kiddo?" Stan and Jesse, panting heavily, descended the stairs cradling a pink Hello Kitty alarm clock. "It's about time. You, guys, ready to go?"
Coupled with heavy hearts, a collective sigh filled the atmosphere; eyes met in a convention of silent farewells. No more grudges or resentments clogged in anybody's chest; they had promised to let the night pass by with ease, that it wouldn't be as if it was their last night together, and that nobody would cry – it was one rule that's hard, really hard to comply with. A few moments later, Fat Amy was the first one to break the unsacred vow. She made the effort to restrain herself, to be honest, but the sniffing noises were perceptible enough when the universe was in a hush. The rest of the group groaned; they agreed nobody was going to cry, for Pete's sake!
"I'm not crying," the perpetrator denied, ducking her head a little to hide the tears underhandedly sliding on her cheeks. "What the fuck! I said, I'm not crying!"
All eyes were set on her, watching her in her most vulnerable state to date.
"I'm not crying," she had to convince herself more than anybody, yet her tear ducts betrayed her all the same.
"Goddamn it! Pull yourself together!"
The Australian blonde immediately recoiled and pursed her lips at the shivering roar from the lioness. Did Beca really have to be always this tough? Was it really that easy for her to leave everything behind? Fat Amy only cried even more, just a little bit short from the classification for a bawling baby. Would it be such a crime to confess just how much she was going to miss her best friend? She got the answers to her questions when a pair of thin arms wrapped her body so tight she was almost unable to breathe.
"I'm going to fucking miss you so fucking much, mate," mumbled Beca, keeping the embrace in place; she cared.
Oh what the hell! Forget about the unsacred vow. This was the team who was never so keen at following the original plan anyway. Soon Aubrey joined in, wrapping her arms around the two people her old self never thought she'd get along with; followed by Jesse and Ronie; Rem extended a hand towards Stan and together they expanded the growing circle.
One hushed ladybug was missing though. Chloe found herself unable to cope with the emotional damages brought about by goodbyes. Instead, she sought for relief in her old room, standing by the bed, staring at the yellow walls she painted herself until her sight fell upon the wilted rose, her precious wilted rose still caged in its Swarovski vase. She was finally going to abandon it.
"Are you okay?"
She turned to the door to see her favorite brunette standing by with her usually vacant face stained with a very concerned look.
"I just want to see the room one last time," answered the redhead.
"That doesn't really answer the question."
Chloe let out a small laugh; she was never really good at lying or successfully diverting conversations. She sat on the edge of the bed and motioned for her girlfriend to go sit beside her. "I don't think we ever had sex in here."
"No," Beca couldn't help but blush and match it with a naughty sneer at the idea.
"I'm not quite suggesting anything!" ladybug hit her on the arm. "God, your dirty mind!"
"What? I wasn't even thinking about it! And you know you're actually hornier than I am."
The young heiress awkwardly tilted her head to the side and chewed on her lower lip. Fine. Beca chuckled at the view – the childlike ways of her beloved Chloe. The moment was followed by a heavy sigh and she held Chloe's hand in hers; it's pretty hard to imagine spending the rest of her days without it.
"So tell me, do you still want to leave?" the cricket had to ask because whatever Chloe wanted – needed – it's the only thing that would really matter.
Chloe hugged her girlfriend's arm and rested her head upon her shoulder as she stared at the wilted rose. "When I thought you were dead, it was the only thing that kept me sane. It was all that's left of you, so I just couldn't let it go. Now I realize that it wasn't you who died. It's still me who needs to be alive again. Every time I close my eyes, I'm haunted by everything, all these nightmares playing in my head in an endless loop. I'm just afraid that maybe one day I'd just shut down, okay? And I don't want that. So, I guess I need this escape."
"And I'll be there with you," Beca planted a soft kiss on top of the ginger hair.
Knock, knock. Both followed the source of the interrupting noise; Rem was at the door, waiting. "I hate to say this, but it's time to say goodbye."
"Oh I haven't given everybody their farewell presents!"
The redhead hurried out of the room, leaving the two in the comfort of silence. The former Head left her seat and casually walked to the exit when the other deliberately blocked the way.
"I get it now," she said. "You need France to get out of the country without raising any amount of suspicion. The mighty Phoenix would never run, not unless for Chloe Beale. God, Beca. She is the perfect alibi because now it's justified. Plus you get to keep her away from all of them. Brilliant, brilliant."
The other said nothing.
"You don't want to take the public transport when you go to the mission," the cheat code advised, untying the bandana around her arm. She folded it neatly, and secured it into the brunette's breast pocket. "The Chunnel has a third tunnel. Wear this and someone working on the drainage pipes will come to your aid, anything you need. Such a shame you won't be going to England."
"Thank you," replied her anti-thesis. It was the first, the very first time that this dark and dull pixie fairy awarded those sugary words; it was almost instituted that it was never going to happen.
Rem grinned for the pleasant surprise. "Just keep your word. Keep her safe, that's all."
"You don't even have to ask," guaranteed the other. The supposedly heartless creature added a quick genuine hug much to the surprise of the crazy blonde before deliberately walking away; that better be enough for a sincere gesture of gratitude.
"Any news about the Syndics?" inquired the Head Phoenix.
"None," Thud shook his head in response as he made an attempt to read the findings displayed on the computer screen. Wherever the McDouglas brothers were hiding their army, it remained to be unknown. "…unless I'm doing it all wrong. I'm sorry, boss. Technology's not really my area of expertise."
Cynthia-Rose refrained from giving away a disappointed sigh. She knew Thud was giving his best, everybody was, and by 'everybody,' it meant the few who were left to stay. She forced an encouraging grin and patted his broad shoulder. "You're doing a great job in training. I heard the new recruits will soon be ready to work in missions. We owe you that."
"Fidelity to The Society."
"Fidelity to The Society," she repeated. If only it could absolutely save the organization at this period of predicament.
"Dinner?" he offered. "You haven't eaten anything all night."
"No, thank you."
The door creaked open as Paul entered the Communication Room. "Good news: we still have Albuquerque and the rest of New Mexico."
"That's fantastic!" the Head Phoenix exclaimed, thrilled. Finally, something nice to hear. But was it going to be enough to maintain the glory that was The Secret Society? The rest of the picture was a shade of uncertainty.
"Things will get better, alright? You're doing one hell of a job trying to turn the wheel around. Even Beca had a hard time before, didn't she?"
CR nodded, yet she realized that she was doing something her predecessor never did – give up. It was a bigger crap before, and Beca even had to start from practically nothing. How to rebuild Pandemonium, the heart of the organization, from its burning ruins? And every mission ending up in failure, they had every reason to quit, but how could they if their leader was nowhere near the finish line? This time, CR had to be that person.
"Maybe it's time to let the treasure go," she declared.
Her two men exchanged looks.
"The card's out of our deck, and we need to stay within our limits. It's the best choice we have right now. We stay out of the Syndic's radar, they stay out of ours while we make a reboot… it's a win-win thing, right? What do you think, Sky?"
Sky? No response was heard. They looked around the room, and the wanted brunette was nowhere to be seen. She was supposed to be here; she always was, so where on earth could the other half of the Conrad twins be?
The reckless driver in Rem was impatiently tapping her fingers on her legs while Stan drove too cautiously in a practically smooth traffic. Chloe, meanwhile, was composing a text message for her best friend who could no longer come to the airport in order to attend a party as per her father's order; Beca sat quietly in her seat, looking out of the window, her thoughts drifting away from the present back to a memory from recent history.
She walked in between the gaps, going deeper into the wide basement chock-full of cash. What was more eye-catching than the treasure though was the fact that a tiny strip of paper was left littering on the floor. Only it, and no other trash was there. So, what was a tiny strip of paper doing in such secluded area with no window to crawl into? Maybe it was just her being all too paranoid, but it couldn't just mean nothing because this was Benji. This was the man who planned everything from strategic hiding places down to how people would react to his moves – everybody was his marionette, his chest pieces, so this strip of paper couldn't be here by mere accident or coincidence. It had to mean something.
Curious, Beca slowly approached the foreign material, pulled out her knife as she bent her knees down, and turned it over with the weapon as if flipping a burger patty with a spatula just in case it was coated with some poisonous substance. Knowing Benji, it's gotta be filled with surprises. And she was somehow right; much to her further bafflement, it bore a name and a place plus a message from the game-maker himself to Beca.
The rest is up to you, kiddo. Find Igor Kosoglad, if you dare.
Just when everything cleared up, Benji Applebaum presented one more puzzle to solve. The treasure hunt wasn't over. Suddenly, her memory blended back to the present reality; Rem's voice was calling for her attention.
"Hey, Tink. We have a situation here."
Tinker bell and the rest reserved their full courtesy to the crazy blonde. What was it this time?
"Something's fishy," she shared her trepidation, her eyes glued on the side mirror. "It's safe to assume that nobody would want to drive behind somebody in a turtle speed, right? And I could be wrong, but I think we're being followed."
Stan immediately turned to the rear view mirror for reference while the two passengers at the back turned around to check the potential threat.
"Do the thing," the younger Mitchell instructed her brother.
At the first intersection they could come across, he turned right. He turned right again at the second street, then another and another until they completed a quadrilateral-shaped path. It's a pointless circle. It's obviously the most stupid thing to do when you knew where you're going, unless you were simply following someone else. The blonde was right. Indeed, the red truck was still trailing a few meters behind them.
"Syndics."
"What the fuck do they want again?" Rem prepared her guns.
Stan gradually increased the speed as they again turned to the corner, finding a way to make a run for it. "We can't lead them to the airport."
"W-What's going on?" asked Chloe, clearly confused by the sudden change of the atmosphere.
"We're going to be just a little late for our flight," her girlfriend calmly replied while she slid into the third row. She hauled the bags closer to the seats and turned it over to the side so that she could build an improvised fighting pit; thanks to Chloe for packing up more than necessary. "Babe, could you do me a favor?"
"Yes?"
"Stay down, please."
"Why?"
As if on cue, gunfire erupted and bullets were raining in their direction. Glasses shattered; Beca was trapped in the make-shift pit leaving Rem to fire back from her position. She fired accurately at the driver, planting more than a few bullets into his skull. The red truck, in the absence of a competent driver, lost its proper direction and drove across the sidewalk into a nearby store.
"Oh that was easy," Rem proudly blew out the smoke coming out of the nozzle of her gun. She didn't even let Beca fire.
"You okay?" Beca checked on her girlfriend.
Chloe's hands were slowly moving away from her head. "Yeah, I think so."
"Send a signal to Jesse," Stan ordered his sister. "We must have been followed from the house. They have to watch out for Syndics in the area."
However, it seemed like the message was much more applicable to them. As they turned left at the corner, a black SUV was already blocking their way that Stan had to make an abrupt brake. As a reflexive reaction, he shifted the gear to reverse and stepped on the acceleration only to make another abrupt stop – Beca's light weight flew against the back of the seat – when another black SUV barged their escape route.
"Fuckity fuck fuck," Rem rambled. Perhaps, it wasn't as easy as she thought the night would be. "Don't they have a concept of proportion? It's two against one!"
"Hold on." Stan quickly steered the wheel to the side and made a seemingly perfect U-turn around the road. Unfortunately, a monster truck was surely to block their alternate route.
"Great, now it's fucking three is to one."
"Reverse," Beca insisted on her brother then turned to her girlfriend. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to say goodbye to your car."
The older Mitchell shifted gear and drove the Range Rover in reverse until it hit the black SUV, powering up the accelerator to push it. Beca nodded to her counterpart – she would take care of the rear while the crazy blonde would handle the front landscape; Chloe was left with not much choice but to duck for safety.
"Clear!"
Stan hurriedly steered the car to move past the small opening available, but with every chance to get away, the number of Syndics just kept on multiplying. As much as she hated so; Beca had to give Chloe a gun just in case she would miss out on anyone.
"But stay right in the middle, okay?"
"I got this," assured the redhead.
"You know what? Change of plans," Rem announced. "Why don't you just go ahead? I'll try to hold them off."
"Are you nuts?"
"You've got a plane to catch, silly!"
"No!" Stan exclaimed. "We're not leaving you behind!"
The crazy blonde rolled her eyes before opening the door and getting off the moving car that was running in full speed. One of the black SUVs chasing them down missed her slender body rolling over on the road by a few inches from the wheels; she grabbed the opportunity to fire at the essential motor parts from below. She fired at the rear portion as it took off until the car was swarmed by flames and eventually exploded.
"Wow," Chloe and Stan chorused in awe.
"She's not going to make it on her own," Beca hypothesized, scavenging through a bag full of ready-to-use magazines. She reloaded her gun and turned to her brother. "We'll meet you two at the airport."
"What? Wait!"
Another enemy mobile flipped and exploded in the air.
"I have to help her out. I expect you to look after my girlfriend, idiot."
"No!" Chloe gripped her girlfriend's arm as tight as she could. She wasn't going to let her get away from this grip. "You're not doing this again, Beca."
"I'll meet you there, I promise."
"You're not leaving me again!"
"Chloe!"
The car swerved to the left upon the bump on its side by another old truck. Beca swiftly raised her guns and shot them dead. The truck lost control and crashed into the nearby supermarket.
"Do you trust me?" she posted the question for the redhead.
Chloe didn't say a word right away; she couldn't tell a lie because even though she didn't like the consequence of it, the truth was that she still did trust this big fat liar. She sighed in surrender. "With all my life."
"Then go," Beca gave her a kiss. "I'll see you later, hmm?"
There was a small reluctant nod in response.
With that, the mighty Phoenix forced to kick the back door open and it flew into the car trailing behind, destroying its windshield completely and obstructing the enemies' view from the inside. She jumped off from the Range Rover to launch her attack; her brother drove away while the remaining duo tried to hold off the army of foes. Beca hijacked one of the SUVs, grabbed a grenade from a dead body, and threw it into the pack of Syndics. Rem sneaked into the monster truck through the cloud of smoke, killed all on board, and salvaged what's left of the ammunition. It's easier, if not more logical, to fight in a battle with a sub-automatic machine gun.
Soon, sirens were wailing nearby and a helicopter was hovering above. Police. The blonde collected as much weapon as she could then jumped into the SUV driven by Beca as it passed by in a flash; it's not safe to stay in one place when it's two girls versus the world. They would have a better chance at a dangerous car chase.
"You got shot," Beca noticed the wounds on her passenger's shoulder as well as on the side of her stomach.
"What do you expect? I was out in the open."
"You're losing a lot of blood."
"It's just a scratch."
But the brunette could terribly smell the volume of blood oozing out from the breaches.
"We might not outrun them this time," Rem admitted.
"I know," agreed Beca. There was just no way to survive this.
A dozen police cars blocked the road as they approached; the officers were ready to shoot any moment. They quickly exchanged looks and established a mutual idea. Rem scrambled through the items in the back, obtained a grenade and several of the smoke bombs. The driver sped up, a number of Syndics still trailing behind, and they patiently waited until they were on the right spot. On cue, Rem threw out a couple of lit smoke bombs then the grenade towards the group of policemen, added a couple more of the weapons until they were enveloped by the haze in secured concealment. The police fired at the unknown and so did the Syndics, but they only ended up shooting at each other. When the fog cleared out, the pair of rascals was nowhere to be located.
Little did they know was that the duo was already escaping through a dark alley. Beca ran as last as she could before the helicopter could spot them from the sky. Rem, on the other hand, had to drag her badly wounded body, could hardly keep up until her damned leg betrayed her sense of balance and tumbled down.
"Are you alright?" the brunette ran back to her partner.
"Sure, whatever."
But Beca assisted her back on her feet anyway. "We need to get you to the hospital. Pandemonium's too far."
"I can manage." The blonde was already panting heavily, holding on to her stomach. "You do realize they're here for you, right?"
"What?"
"They're not here to take away Chloe like they did before. Nobody cared enough to go after her and Stan. They're here to kill you, I think."
"Then we're in more trouble than we think."
Another convoy of Syndics passed by the narrow opening to the street when one of them caught an eye of their target and called upon the rest of the team.
"You should go," proposed Rem, nudging the other in an urgency. "I'll take this."
"No way."
"If you don't leave now, we'll both die."
The Syndics had already gathered at both ends of the passageway, trapping the women in between.
"Then so be it," Beca replied. "They want the mighty Phoenix dead? It's their lucky day. Here I am."
Blondie chuckled, shook her head and, without thinking twice, showed the exposed tattoo on her arm. "How many times do I have to tell you, huh? I'm your cheat code, remember?"
The quiet cricket stared at her, but she knew it's not going to change anything. Cheat code. It was starting to make sense, what it actually meant. It was as if Benji planned it all along; that Rem's role was created specifically right for this moment.
"By the way," she wished to add. "You're my fucking hero."
That was her last words. The crazy blonde offered a small nod and a smirk as a form of goodbye. One car began to advance, and before the supposed collision could occur, Rem leaped over the hood and fashioned an effective diversion with her gunning skills while the other slid underneath the vehicle and as if magically disappeared.
Beca checked the time on her watch as she ran to the boarding gate; the room was already empty. She was the last passenger to board. She hurriedly presented her boarding pass stained with blood and dirt and gunpowder – how she even managed to get pass the strict security without encountering any problem was a mystery. The attendant flashed a big smile at her all the same before allowing her in. She breathed out a sigh of relief; she made it, but Rem most likely wouldn't. She shook off the thoughts out of her head as she continued to walk down the jet bridge. But how was she going to explain it to Chloe? How was she going to make her understand that Rem had to die so Beca could live?
The long flight would be an agony, knowing so well the kind of situation they were leaving behind. Another attendant was waiting to welcome her in at the entrance. Beca made the effort to put on a smile as a courtesy. Then, she entered the aircraft; to her surprise, there were no other passengers aboard. Instead, she was greeted by the last person she expected to see there.
"Skyler?"
Skyler grinned, yet she acted rather cold. "Hello, Beca."
"What… W-What are you doing here?"
"I just can't let you go yet. You still have some unfinished business to deal with, boss."
"Skyler, I'm done," answered the former Head Phoenix. "If this is about The Society, then go see CR. She'll know what to do."
"You didn't see Chloe outside on your way here, did you?"
Beca was taken aback. Chloe. Yes, Chloe. She was supposed to be in this plane, but then the rest of the passengers were supposed to be in the aircraft as well. There's something unusual in the conduct of things. "Where's Chloe?"
"You're on the wrong flight," was the very casual answer. "Do you really think she'd board the plane without you?"
The young Mitchell stammered, shrugging her shoulders, completely baffled. Was that a threat? Was that some stupid scare? Was it a trick question? What the hell was going on in the first place? Skyler was not supposed to be there. They weren't even supposed to be having this conversation.
"I heard you're leaving the country," the taller brunette revealed.
The other checked on the time again. "Take-off's in a few."
"The McDouglases will surely miss you."
And it clicked. Beca had the clear picture, but it was already too late. She was already attacked from behind by a colossal figure that was X. He secured her against his body, locking her in with his huge biceps while he kept a chloroform-soaked cloth upon her nose.
"Chloe's fine," Skyler assured her, to calm her down. Watching her struggle was a source of guilt.
The mighty Phoenix resisted in every way possible. Her efforts, unfortunately, were proven futile as her captor was too strong compared to her petite structure and so was the chemical substance stealing away her strength and consciousness. She managed to stay awake for a few more minutes but passed out soon after. X put her on his shoulder and carried her away; Skyler had no choice but follow the lead.
"I'm so sorry, Beca."
If only it could change the fact that she betrayed a dear friend.
Ronie trailed behind her two apparent bodyguards for the evening leading her way through the compact crowd of estrogen and testosterone – Fat Amy mostly shoved the bodies away in haste – rushing to reach the private office on the second floor. Jesse opened the door and let themselves in.
"They got intercepted! Oh my fucking god! They got intercepted!"
"What the shit are you talking about?" inquired the Head Phoenix.
"The Syndics! They were following the group! They knew they were on the road at that time. They intercepted them. They never made it to the airport!"
"What? But… how?"
"I don't know. Beca just sent a signal, and then Stan called."
"But we didn't get any signal," confessed Thud. Unless he wasn't doing it right with the computers, he didn't receive any emergency signal from the former Head Phoenix's communication device. "Otherwise, we would have gone to rescue them. Right away, of course."
"That's not right," Jesse checked the computers while Cynthia-Rose issued orders for immediate back-up to Paul. "Hey, something's jamming up our system."
The door suddenly swung open and a panic-stricken Aubrey, straight from an appointment with her father, ran to the bar and grabbed the remote control and switched on the television. "I can't believe you're not watching the news!"
Everybody focused on the television screen. The local news channel was broadcasting an exclusive report about a wild car chase between the local police and suspected notorious criminals. A video footage was being put on show to demonstrate the extent of the damages caused be the incident and dead bodies being collected from the streets.
"It's Rem," Fat Amy gasped in realization as the footage zoomed in to a group of paramedics hurriedly wheeling a stretcher into an ambulance. In that quick seconds, the glimpse of streaks of rainbow-colored strands although covered with blood was already enough to determine the fallen victim. "Oh my god, that has to be her!"
CR nodded at Thud who then grabbed his car keys. He had to go to the hospital and confirm.
"What about Beca?" Ronie worriedly searched for her daughter on the screen. "Do you see Beca?"
All concentrated on the visual presentation. However, no sign of Beca Mitchell was seen in the footage. One of the most difficult parts of being a parent was having without the idea of your daughter's whereabouts especially knowing that an impending danger was clearly out there chasing her down.
"They have her." Stan was at the door. Seeing Chloe anxiously standing next to him, they obviously never made it to the flight. "There's no other explanation. The Syndics must have captured Beca."
"Damn it! I can't track her!" Jesse typed in various codes with great frustration. Of all the nights the system could fuck up. "Where's Skyler? I left her some codes that could fix this."
"Skyler's been missing," CR replied.
"Skyler," Aubrey mumbled to herself as her eyes involuntarily narrowed in contemplation. Her brain was connecting the dots, fast. "Oh my god... it's Skyler! She ratted us out."
That single speculation set the entire room into chaos. The brunette in question possessed all the vital information that would easily elevate Bumper into an even more advantaged position. If she disclosed everything to him and with the amount of power he already had, he could certainly wipe out The Secret Society overnight. And there wouldn't be anything they could do to stop it.
"Guys!" Chloe had to shout out loud to gain the others' attention. She stared back at them and sighed. She was tired, really really tired to be honest, and a bit hungry. "I just want to get Beca back. Please?"
And then she broke into tears, desperate and helpless. Stupid cricket. Stupid big fat lying cricket and her broken promises.
She was beautiful, mysteriously transparent, strange yet interesting, insanely attractive – Beca Mitchell. And there was nothing in this world that Stacie Conrad would never do for her. She'd kill for her, she'd die for her. She was everything, her beginning and the end, her whole universe, the meaning of life, the purpose of existence, her one and only happy ending. If it wasn't love, Stacie had no other name for this unstoppable force. But what the fuck did she know about love? All she ever did was waiting, longing, and hoping. Where did love fit in those gaps?
She spent her waking hours thinking about Beca, and her sleeps dreaming about her. Yet, one look, that one freaking look that didn't mean 'I want you' that was impaired by selfish lust, was completely deprived from her. She used to be hurt, to cry over the pangs of emotional pain. She used to curse herself, swear that never would she let anyone toy her body again. She used to raise her defenses, to avoid her. But the more she tried to get away, the more she kept coming back for more. It wasn't the touch, it wasn't the heavenly feeling. It wasn't the privilege of physical connection. It's just the mere fact that she was with Beca, that somehow she was needed, even just for a moment, a very brief moment. If it wasn't love, if she wasn't falling for the horrible monster, then it's indeed a fucked up planet.
"Beca?"
Beca lit up another stick of cigarette. Her father was not going to be happy to smell her room. Other than that, she made no further response. Stacie was getting used to it, being invisible in Beca's eyes.
"Beca?" she repeated, just in case.
"I heard you the first time," was the usual cold reply. Beca blew out smoke rings from her mouth, one of the few instances that one could see her play around a little bit. Stacie found it fascinating.
"You don't have a mission tonight, right?"
A cold response had always felt better than nothing at all.
"So I have you for the whole evening."
Whether or not Beca agreed to the affirmative, it wasn't exactly clear in her limited actions. She simply focused on smoking her cigarette as if her life depended on it. Nothing else mattered. Perhaps, some feminine wiles might just do the trick. Stacie left the bed and joined the host at the corner. She put a hand on Beca's shoulder, running it up and down in that sensual motion then kissed her neck the best that she could.
"What are you doing?" inquired the cold-blooded beast in her typical monotonous voice. Good. At least the plan was working; she was taking notice of the invisible.
It was Stacie's turn to be as speechless as possible. She was determined to find Beca's weakness in a manner she was most accustomed to. She was in control, for a change, for a considerable time until the other grabbed her arm and pushed her lightly.
"D-Did I do something wrong? Don't you like it?"
The horrible monster would not even look her way. Frantic, Stacie caught Beca's hand and placed it upon her breasts, urging to do anything she wanted - at she was all hers. A pair of dark blue orbs was fixed on her; whatever was going on inside that brain, it was hard to comprehend. The vacancy in this creature's gaze lingered more than the usual, and it's nerve-racking.
All of a sudden, the young Mitchell dumped the cigarette butt into the ashtray then took off her black leather jacket. She pulled her guest and shoved her against the wall. Disregarding the buttons, she tore the blouse apart and attacked every inch of skin with her lips, kissing and sucking them all while her hand reached out for anything she could down below. A loud groan of delight escaped from the other's mouth as she ran her fingers through the dark brown locks.
Before long, they found their way back to the bed. Beca pulled the very short shorts and tossed it somewhere on the floor; planted a trail of kisses from Stacie's foot up to her inner thighs. She crawled up just to fondle with those breasts and give them a little lick; her hand slid from the valley down to the flat stomach until it was tearing off the wet panties, the only piece of clothing standing in the way from where her tongue wanted to be. She dipped it in and danced around inside like how she knew Stacie would like it; she got it all memorized already. The body responded by moaning and squirming in pure pleasure. Beca replaced her tongue with her fingers then moved back up letting her taste herself out of those fingers before kissing her lady on the face, her ears, her neck, her jawline.
"Beca," her name was pronounced in a string of breath.
Surprisingly, the monster stopped to look at her.
"Don't stop," said Stacie. She could cry just by that tiny bit of regard for her.
"Are you sure?"
"You have no idea how happy I am tonight," smiled the one at the bottom. Her eyes glanced at those lips, those forbidden lips – would she ever get the chance to kiss them? "Earlier, I found out where my father lives. I think I know where my sister is, I can finally get her. And now we're doing… this. I'm giving you what you want. It's great, isn't it?"
She put a hand on the back of Beca's neck to pull her down for a peck but the young Mitchell moved away. The mighty Phoenix climbed off the bed and got dressed.
"W-Where are you going?" Stacie questioned.
But all the answer she could squeeze out of the wordless beast was a slamming door. Beca stood on the other side of the door, stared at the knob, and sighed.
"You think this is all I want from you," she whispered to the wooden barrier. She knew her words would never reach the woman on the other side, lying naked on her bed. Maybe it was better, it was for the best. Because her heart was no place for a monster like Beca Mitchell.
It was cold, really cold and uncomfortable. Beca woke up, slumped on the floor, locked up in a cell, restrained by a pair of thick chains fit for King Kong – the Syndics were being too cautious this time; they would never let her get away ever again. She leaned back on the wall, wondered about Chloe; did she make it to the flight? Was she on her way to France by this instant? Of course not. Skyler was right; Chloe would never board the plane without her girlfriend. Wherever her ladybug was, Beca felt somehow relieved knowing her brother would take care of her.
The iron door made a noise; somebody was about to enter the cell. Great, a visitor. Skyler, equipped with a tray of meal, let herself in. She was aloof; she couldn't look at her boss eye-to-eye. She avoided the stare even when she bent down and set the tray on the floor.
"Skyler," Beca started. They needed to talk, because betraying a friend wasn't something that would be spontaneously done out of no reason.
"You should eat," told the other brunette. "I prepared this myself. You don't have to worry about food poisoning."
"Why?" because this instance of betrayal just didn't make sense. "How could you do it, Sky?"
"Stuff yourself up. You're going to need to regain your energy."
After which, Skyler glimpsed at the fallen Phoenix and stood up to leave.
"Wait!" Beca tried to stop her, to go after her, but her restraints were not allowing her to go farther than a meter, and her former babysitter showed no sign of hearing her out. "Rem is dead!"
Skyler stopped, thank God. She turned around to face the hostage, confused. "No, she can't be dead."
"But she is!"
"No, no, no, no. They said nobody else will get hurt. You are supposed to be the only target! God. See? It's your fault again! Why the hell does everybody have to die for you? For once, can't you just take the bullet and die?"
Caught off guard, Beca could barely even open her mouth. "This… This is about Stacie…"
"You killed her," Skyler cried out, tears rolling down her face. "Look, I appreciate you rescuing me from my abusive father, but you killed the only chance I got for a family. She was all I had, and you killed her. "
"I'm sorry…"
"Sorry?" the taller one scoffed. "Oh what was your thing again? Yeah, apology doesn't bring back the dead."
"Skyler, I'm really sorry."
"Why didn't you tell me? I wish you could have told me everything, Beca. I wish you didn't let me figure it all out by myself. Trust me, it would have made a difference!"
"How?" Really, Beca wanted to know the answer. "How do you want me to tell you that I am the reason why your sister is buried six feet under the ground right now? And do you really think it's easy for me to look at you every day, that exact same face, without replaying that exact same moment that I had to watch her die in my arms? I die every single time, Skyler. I blame myself every fucking second for not being able to save her. You never got the chance to meet your sister, but I did. And believe it or not, I never wanted to lose her."
Alright, that was something Skyler didn't know. Probably, nobody ever knew.
"So, if this…" the young Mitchell raised her chained hands. "If this is how I'm going to pay you my dues, then I don't have any complaints… 'cause it would be an honor to surrender for Stacie Conrad."
There. Skyler got all the answers she was looking for. It wasn't how she expected them to be though. It wasn't worth the infidelity which increased the amount of guilt and remorse in her chest. Yet, here's a whole other person who was agonizing every day, blaming herself for the misfortune. "She loved you, you know. I mean, I know just how much you'll always love Chloe, but my sister, I bet that she loved you, Beca. Just in case you didn't know."
"Yeah," the mighty Phoenix chuckled because that's one thing she was ever sure about in this world. "Well, here's something I didn't know…"
"What is?"
"It's kind of funny, really," Beca chuckled again. "It took me such a long time to admit it. Your sister… Stacie… she was my first love. I just didn't know I had it in me. I was just too stupid to figure it out."
Skyler shook her head and chuckled as well. Oh love and its mysterious ways. It's amusing to know, for once, what was going on in that little brunette head, although it was already rather too late.
"So here's Bumper's plan," she advised. "They want you killed. Even with the treasure, they're not getting the full support they need to perpetuate their power. The Council is still on your side, and so the only way to do it is kill you. They're preparing a public execution, so everybody gets to witness the end of the mighty Phoenix. By the time CR finds out about it, you'll be wearing a pine overcoat."
"Then it's been nice meeting you."
"Nah-uh," the babysitter strongly shook her head. "Letting you die is letting Stacie die in vain. I'm not going to let that happen."
"So what do we do?" Beca smirked; she still had some luck left to utilize.
"Eat up," Skyler nodded towards the food tray on the floor then stood by the door, ready to leave. "I'll take care of the rest."
No more third installment. I don't think I'll be able to without Rem. There, BeChloeFan01, you got your wish. Any last thoughts on the story, crickets? Last chapter's on deck. Sad. :(
Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect.